For a change after catching venomous snakes such as cobras, vipers and kraits, for the last two decades, Kiran, the snake catcher of Visakhapatnam, had a chance to catch and rescue a dog-faced water snake or Cerberus rynchops, which is colloquially called as ‘Uppu Trasu’ or salt cobra.
He got a call from the officials of the industry here on Wednesday, and he found it in a muddy pool inside the plant.
This is not a rare snake, but they generally found in the coastal area, near estuaries, and rarely sighted in the hinterland. “For the first time In my career spanning over 20 years, I have never encountered this species of snake. I have caught over 25,000 snakes, including very poisonous ones and big ones such as pythons, but have never come across this one,” said Mr. Kiran.
Speaking to The Hindu, D.E. Babu, from the Department of Zoology, Andhra University, said though this snake is categorised under the Least Concern Category by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it is a sort of a rare sighting in the city limits. They usually live in estuaries and migrate to coastal waters.
According to him, this snake prefers mudflats and mangroves and can be encountered in Coringa mangroves. Fishermen are generally afraid of this snake, as they can climb mangrove trees. They generally feed on fishes, crabs and eels, he said.
This snake is mildly venomous and a bite could lead to septic wounds and muscle decomposition.
“After catching the snake, we let it out into the sea at RK Beach,” said Mr. Kiran.
The snake catcher has been catching the snakes in the city for the last 20 years and has become a household name.
He started all alone and today has a team of about 18 members. “I have trained around 40 people in the last two decades and few of them are now on their own,”he said.
“There are a few areas in the city, where the presence of snakes are on the higher side such as Atchutapuram, Gajuwaka, Parawada and Madhurawada. It would be good if the GVMC gives us a space of around 20 sq yards to set up a help desk, so that the response time could be reduced. We also request the district administration or the GVMC to take at least five members of our team on contract basis and provide some salary, as it is becoming difficult for me to pay and maintain the team,” said Mr. Kiran.
